Rene Meulensteen has picked out his top four most naturally gifted players he coached at Manchester United
Rene Meulensteen was Manchester United’s first-team coach under Sir Alex Ferguson from 2008 to 2013. The Dutchman helped Manchester United dominate the Premier League, winning in 2008/09, 2010/11, and 2012/13.
Meulensteen spoke to the SACKED podcast about his time at the club and his experience coaching some of football’s most important players. Out of his star-studded cast, the coach picked out four of the most naturally gifted talents.
Meulensteen said, “When I saw that question, listen all those players at Manchester United were naturally gifted. Otherwise, you’re not playing at that level.” United dominated football in this era by developing players in the academy and scouting talent abroad.
The standard that Sir Alex Ferguson set made sure that all players were special and played a part in the success of the club. The first player mentioned by Meulensteen was Welshman Ryan Giggs, who holds the record for the most appearances for the club.
Meulensteen raves about gifted United trio
Meulensteen described Giggs’ talent saying, “There are there are natural players that have naturally a level of pace more, you know.
“I mean, naturally gifted straight away comes to my mind, obviously Ryan Giggs was very naturally gifted. Within everything that he did, there was a balance, there was a change of pace, there was an element of disguise in his game that not many people, not many other players had.”
The second player mentioned by the Dutchman was midfielder, Paul Scholes, “You look at the ease with which Paul Scholes, you know, moved the ball around the you know, and used also disguise in his passing, but he would hit 60, 70, 80 yards, you know, for fun.”
These stars were nearing the end of their careers when Meulensteen was coaching, but they provided the club with years of experience and knew the club inside and out. Scholes remains an ever-present figure at the club, often commenting on players’ and coaches’ performances.
The third player mentioned by Meulensteen was Manchester United’s top scorer, Wayne Rooney. Meulensteen said, “Wayne Rooney was naturally gifted and driven by power and strength.” Rooney was incredibly important to the club’s success and remains one of United’s biggest legends.
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Ronaldo’s blend of abilities was key
Cristiano Ronaldo was coached by Meulensteen for a short time before his departure in July of 2009. The Portuguese international remains one of football’s greatest stars and returned to the club in 2021.
Meulensteen spoke on Ronaldo’s ability, saying, “Cristiano Ronaldo again was another, you know, very naturally gifted player because he had that combination of power and strength and pace and unbelievable skill.”
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Meulensteen continued, saying, “So yeah, all of them, all of them would have some level of naturally gifted aspects to their game because otherwise, you know, you wouldn’t possibly be playing at Manchester United.”
If United are to get back to the level that they once were, having naturally gifted players who also have a great work ethic will be key. Michael Carrick’s Reds sit in third place with a big fight for the Champions League spots as they approach the end of the season.
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